DnaNudge named finalist for MacRobert Award

DnaNudge has been named as a finalist for the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award for 2021. 

DnaNudge’s shortlisting honours the development of its consumer genetics technology – including the NudgeBox genetic analyser and wearable DnaBand – that uses an individual’s DNA to detect dispositions to nutrition-related conditions and helps people to manage their lifestyles.

The company joins two other finalists in the running to receive the MacRobert Award gold medal and a £50,000 cash prize – previously won by the pioneers behind the Harrier Jump Jet, the Raspberry Pi micro-computer and the CT scanner. The winning engineering team will be announced in July.

The 2021 finalists for the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award represent world-leading UK engineering innovations that could help us all live healthier, more sustainable lives. The MacRobert Award judges highlighted the simplicity and usability of the DnaNudge technology – which uses consumers’ own DNA plus lifestyle to nudge people towards healthier choices while shopping. The judging panel highlighted the potential of DnaNudge’s innovation to make a significant difference to the health and wellbeing of the nation.

DnaNudge’s Lab-in-Cartridge genetic testing innovation allows individuals to provide a cheek swab, on-the-spot at DnaNudge’s flagship store in Covent Garden, at one of its John Lewis pop-up locations, or by post from home. In just over an hour, DnaNudge’s NudgeBox portable analyser then maps the user’s genetic profile to key nutrition-related health traits such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol. The results of the report can then be used to help people manage their lifestyles. Using the wrist-worn DnaBand or DnaNudge mobile app, people are able to scan food products sold in UK supermarkets to find out whether the nutritional contents are a good match for their biology. For example, if your DNA suggests a predisposition to conditions influenced by salt intake, the band will identify if the scanned item is high in salt and the mobile app will suggest a range of alternative products better suited to your individual genetic profile.

DnaNudge has already been recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering for adapting its technology to deliver a rapid, lab-free COVID-19 test, awarding the President's Special Award for Pandemic Service to DnaNudge CEO and co-founder Professor Chris Toumazou in August 2020. DnaNudge’s CE-marked RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) COVID-19 test is now in use in NHS hospitals, care homes and supporting the returns of the arts sector, and can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus from saliva samples in just over an hour – without the need for a laboratory. DnaNudge’s COVID-19 Bubble Test is also available to asymptomatic UK consumers as a private test for individuals and groups of up to 10, delivered in-store by appointment and as a by-post service.

MacRobert Award judge Naomi Climer CBE FREng, said: “Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes plus the current COVID-19 pandemic are three huge health issues affecting people in the United Kingdom right now, and DnaNudge can help us to combat them all. What makes this innovation stand out is that it has taken something extremely complex - using our biological make-up to help individuals support their own everyday health - and engineered a product to make it simple enough for anybody to do. Widespread uptake of this technology would give us all much greater power to make the right decisions about our health. And this is only the start. This technology has the potential to be applied to a huge range of other healthcare challenges.”

Professor Chris Toumazou, co-founder & CEO of DnaNudge added: “It is a huge honour to be a finalist for the most prestigious award for engineering innovation. The entire DnaNudge team has shown an incredible level of flexibility, imagination and commitment over the past year, especially as we sought to rapidly adapt our technology into a test for COVID-19. We’re extremely proud to have developed a technology that is having an impact on some of the biggest health challenges facing our society.”